We live in a society of rules. These rules give us guidelines on how to act. They let us know what we should be doing and what we shouldn’t be doing. They let us know what is right and wrong. Consider, for example, if we didn’t have rules of the road. How would people know which side of the road to drive on or how fast they should drive? Because we have rules of the road, such as speed limits, driving is much safer. Speed limits let drivers know the correct speed to drive for a specific road. Stop signs allow cars and trucks to get through intersections without crashing into one another. When we are old enough to get our driver’s license, we need to study the rules and learn how we should behave behind the wheel. It is the same thing with our Bible. It gives us rules on how we should behave in different situations.
Colossians 3 gives practical information we can use in our walk to the Kingdom. I have always liked the parts of the Bible I can apply to my daily life, and Colossians 3 gives a black-and-white image of proper conduct and behavior.
A little bit of background and history: Colosse is located in the lower middle portion of what is now Turkey. It was on a major trade route from Ephesus to the Euphrates River. At the time the letter was written, Colosse was a city in decline. Over time its neighbors, Laodicea and Hierapolis, surpassed the city in power and trading importance. It is believed the ecclesia was formed with the help of a man named Epaphras, whom Paul called “a dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ” (Col 1:7). The ecclesia fell into wrong practices that are not specifically explained by Paul, and while he was in jail in Rome he writes to them to help correct and encourage their meeting.
Set your hearts on things above
Colossians 3 starts us off with what I call Rule #1 of the Rules for Holy Living: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (vv 1,2).
This verse tells us what we should be constantly thinking about. Because we have been raised with Christ, our focus should always be on things above, not on earthly things. This is often easier said than done. Unfortunately, putting our focus on earthly things is very easy in this world because we are constantly bombarded with slick and exciting images that grab us and make us think we want and need them. These images make us envious; they cause strife and greed and remove our focus from where it should be. If we focus on earthly things and make them more important than God, we are making a serious mistake.
When we were baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, we made a contract that guarantees the reward of the Kingdom for those who keep their focus. But if we break that contract, we are risking disqualification. What is it worth to us? Where should our thoughts be? Jesus tells us:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21).
Do you think God cares what type of car we drive? Or how much money we have? Or what position we attain at work? Earthly things don’t last forever — godly things do. Jesus tells us not to put our treasures in earthly things. Remember Colossians 3:1,2: We should set our hearts on things above, where Christ is. Jesus is the best treasure we can have.
Delete all the rest
Then follow what I call the “Don’t do it!” Rule. Rule #1 says to set our focus above on heavenly things. Rule #2 says to delete the things that belong to earthly nature. These things will surely get us into trouble:
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (v 5).
These things we may have done in the past. When we did these things, we weren’t putting God first. We have all seen people in the news who have done such deeds and paid a high price. Paul says that as followers of Christ we should put such behaviors to death. Don’t do them; turn away from these temptations! These things are of an earthly nature. Our focus should not be there. Our focus should be on God and Jesus. We are not aiming to live in Sodom and Gomorrah, but to live eternally in God’s Kingdom.
When faced with an evil desire or greed or any of the other items in this verse, we have to ask for help. God always gives us a choice. The easy choice is to succumb
to the earthly desire, but you know that it isn’t the right choice. The right way is not the easy way. The things you truly want aren’t going to be easy. When tempted, pray to the Father for strength and help. Elsewhere, Paul gives us examples as a warning and consequence of focusing on earthly matters:
“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.’ We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did and in one day 23 thousand of them died.
We should not test the Lord as some of them did and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel” (1Co 10:1-10, NIV).
The Israelites were saved from the Egyptians by God and saw many miraculous signs. God saved them by parting the Red Sea and guiding them in the wilderness. But they complained and focused on earthly things instead of on God; they wanted to be back in Egyptian bondage. They got into trouble for it and God smote a large number of Israelites. We have their example for a reason: they are a warning to us (v 11).
We are also told that these temptations can be faithfully borne because God is faithful and will not tempt us with more than we can handle (v 13). In every temptation God gives us a way out. It is important to remember this when we are dealing with trials. God gives us a way out. It is our choice to take it. It just depends where we are looking: up or down.
Paul continues with a statement and a warning:
“Because of these, the wrath of God is coming” (Col 3:6).
This is a strong warning indeed: if we continue down paths of sin, God will punish us. God is opposed to sin. I’m not sure we think about that enough. If we did, we probably would make different choices when we meet temptations.
Elsewhere again Paul writes of those who “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator — who is forever praised” (Rom 1:25) Do you ever see yourself in that statement? Do we do what we want rather than what God wants? Then he wrote that those who were stubborn and unrepentant “are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom 2:5). But God “will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger” (Rom 2:6-8). Brothers and sisters, those who continue to live in a life of sin will receive God’s wrath. While I don’t know exactly what God’s wrath looks like, it has to be a terrible thing. We are warned. God will punish those who are sinful and do not seek to change. But the same warning holds for those who did change, at baptism, but later allow themselves to relapse into the old fleshly desires and the old worldly ways.
More “delete” rules
Paul continues with more rules of how not to act, or rather more aspects of Rule #2, the “Don’t Do It” Rule:
“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off the old self” (Col 3:8,9).
These Rules of Holy Living control powerful emotions. It can be difficult, but what we have to remember is that we made the change and we do not need to look back at the old self, but rather forward to what we really want. We achieve this by taking off “the old self” (v 9) and putting on “the new self” (v 10). Paul is telling us that the difference between the old self and new self is black and white; there is no gray. You cannot do the things of the earthly nature and put on Christ at the same time. You can only walk on one side of the fence. You must not hop back and forth.
Lest I sound too harsh, remember: These “Don’t Rules” have value. As a parent, we use “Don’t Rules” to keep our children safe. We tell our children, ‘Don’t run into a parking lot, or you’ll get flattened like a pancake’… ‘Don’t touch the stove, or you’ll get burned.’ The rules Paul gives us in this chapter, just like the rules parents give their children, tell us what not to do, and warn us that bad things can happen if we forget.
What should we do?
We have seen how we shouldn’t behave. Now let us look at how we should behave. Rule #3 is:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (v 12).
“Clothe” is a wonderfully descriptive word. I imagine a big thick parka completely sealing out the elements and storm, keeping me warm and safe. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience will help keep rage and malice and the other behaviors of verse 8 away from us. It is not a passive kind of behavior, but rather an active, powerful way to behave as Jesus would have us. His parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) describes a man who did not just walk by an injured man but instead had compassion on him, and stopped to help him. In contrast to the priest and the Levite, who should have known better, the lowly Samaritan’s kindness, gentleness, and patience underlie the whole story. Each of us can look to people we know who have acted in positive ways. We know people who show compassion for aged or disabled people. We know people who show kindness to others when they are in need. We see people act in humility when they serve others. We also see people work with gentleness when difficult situations come. To do as Paul commands, always act with compassion, gentleness, and patience.
The choice is clear
Paul refers to “God’s chosen people” as “holy and dearly loved” (Col 3:12). He is using another black-and-white example. There is a big difference between being God’s dearly beloved — and suffering God’s wrath. When you act with kindness, humility, and patience you are dearly beloved. When you act with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, you will suffer God’s wrath. Again, the choice is ours to be on either side of the fence. Always strive to be on God’s side.
The hardest rule
Then comes Rule #4:
“Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (v 13).
This can be the hardest rule to obey. We have all been injured by someone at some time. We all have some scars, whether physical or emotional, and by nature, we do not want to visit the trauma and think about what happened or the person who hurt us. Yet we are commanded to forgive. Just think about how every Sunday we seek God’s forgiveness for our wrong doings. We take the cup to remember that Jesus died for us as a sin offering. We clothed ourselves with the life of Jesus at baptism. We try to emulate him in our behavior. But we still fail. The wonder is: God forgives us! If we ask God to forgive us for our sins, shouldn’t we forgive those who trespass against us?
The most important rule
Rule #5 is:
“Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (v 14).
Love is the strongest weapon of God we have. We all know 1 Corinthians 13: 1-7. Love binds everything together in unity. Paul says that without love we are nothing. Love is the most important Rule for Holy Living because God is love. God wants us to be with Him in the Kingdom because he loves us so much He gave His only Son as an offering for our forgiveness.
The final rule
Rule #6 in our final rule: “Be thankful” (v 15).
This thought continues on to the last two verses of this section. We should be thankful at all times to our Father, for He has given us much. He has given us many blessings, such as His Son and the opportunity for everlasting life with him. What He wants us to do is to show His glory in how we act. If we follow the Rules for Holy Living, we will shine like a bright light showing others we are true followers of God.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One